1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to golf clubs. More particularly, this invention relates to a metal wood type golf club head having a particular weight distribution.
2. State of the Art
In golf, a variety of golf clubs are used for hitting a golf ball from various locations. For example, from the tee, a driver is used to hit the ball far distances, while once on the fairway, typically, a fairway wood or iron may be used to position the ball close to or on the green. Typically, once on the green, a putter is used to put the ball into the cup. In addition, a number of specialty clubs are often used for difficult situations. For example, a sand wedge having a relatively sharply angled club face may be used to attempt to hit a ball out of a sand trap.
Other difficult situations which have recently received much attention include golf balls situated in tight lies or buried lies. In golf terminology, a tight lie occurs when the golf ball is close to the ground, lying on top of dirt or very short grass. A tight lie creates difficulty in getting the club face under the ball to loft the ball into the air. A buried lie occurs when a ball has landed in a divot or other indentation in the fairway, and also creates a difficulty in getting the club face under the ball.
For several reasons, the standard wood and iron clubs are not suited for hitting balls in the tight lie and buried lie situations. First, the clubs generally have a relatively high center of gravity, making it difficult to get `under` the ball. Second, woods generally have a relatively large club head size and a large face on the club head for contacting the ball. However, the large face can be disconcerting as a golfer tries to maneuver the club through difficult terrain. Moreover, the large face can psychologically intimidate a golfer into believing that the club cannot get under the ball to make the shot. Third, irons often do not have the ability to provide the distance required to make a ball in a tight lie or buried lie into the desired shot. In addition, if an iron is used to hit a ball in a tight lie or buried lie and the iron is accidentally hit behind the ball, the iron will dig into the ground and lose its forward force.
As a result of the difficulty presented by the tight or buried lie, a number of clubs have appeared for the purpose of hitting a ball in those situations. One such club, the TIGHT LIES golf club from Adams Golf includes a hollow metal club head having a trapezoidal shape with a wider bottom portion than top portion. The shape of the Adams Golf TIGHT LIES club is marketed as lowering the center of gravity of the club to assist the golfer to better get under the ball. However, the shape of the club head of the TIGHT LIES golf club does not sufficiently lower the center of gravity of the club head to permit the club head to get under the ball in the most difficult of situations. The TIGHT LIES club head, and all other hollow metal wood-type club heads known to the inventor, have a mass distribution which provides at least half the mass of the club head above the center plane of the club head (the center plane being an imaginary plane extending horizontally through the club head at the location equally between the highest point on the top portion, excluding the hosel, and the lowest point on the bottom portion). Moreover, the shape of the club head of the TIGHT LIES golf club is unconventional. In the game of golf, the psychological comfort of a golfer can play a large part in the success of the golfer on a course. The unconventional shape of the TIGHT LIES club can be disconcerting and, therefore, poses a disadvantage which can overcome any benefit otherwise realizable.